Saria's Goodbye
by yaphi1
Summary: Something was wrong. For a Kokiri, this was not an ordinary thought, but today Saria knew something was different. Before she could find answers, she would have to deal with the abominable Mido. This was going to be a pain...


Something was wrong. For a Kokiri, this was not an ordinary thought, but today Saria knew something was different. As she sat on the high porch of her tree house looking out at the forest she called home, she noticed Link emerging from a hollow log with a new sword and an odd look in his eyes. What she wanted to know was why.

She knew he had been summoned to see the Deku Tree, but that did not explain the sword. Perhaps if she watched, everything would make sense.

Off went Link in the direction of the Deku Tree. There was Mido, blocking the way. Why was he doing this? Was he trying to protect the Deku Tree from Link? The idea of the guardian spirit of the forests of Hyrule needing to be protected from a small boy with a wooden shield and a sword the size of a kitchen knife made Saria giggle. Her fairy flitted playfully around her head.

Link approached Mido, and Saria stopped laughing. Mido had his chest puffed out importantly. He looked like a bird declaring ownership of a millet seed. This would be interesting. Whenever Mido brought out the bird pose, disaster was sure to follow.

Link said something and Mido looked surprised. He immediately stood aside and let Link through.

If Saria was confused before, it was nothing compared to what she felt now. She was not sure what baffled her more, Mido being cooperative, or Mido helping Link. She knew she would have to get a closer look. Link had already disappeared into the tunnel, and sitting around would not bring Saria the answers she needed.

Soon she arrived at the tunnel Mido had been guarding. Upon seeing her approach, his face brightened and his chest puffed out again. This was always bad news.

"Hey there Saria," said Mido, swaying dangerously under the weight of his own ego. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm _in charge_ of guarding this tunnel."

Something about the way Mido said "in charge" irritated Saria. "I don't know if you noticed," she said, keeping her tone friendly, "but you let one through."

Mido's expression darkened. "This is about him, isn't it? Link." He spat the name like a piece of lint.

Saria silently cursed herself. Getting past Mido would be impossible while he was upset. She took a deep breath and prepared to change tack. "Listen. Everyone knows you're the toughest one around." _And the stupidest_, she thought privately, as Mido began to grin. "All I want to know is what Link said to get past you."

Mido's grin vanished. "So that's it. You want to follow him in, don't you?"

"I—" Saria paused. She had to choose her next words carefully. Mido's chest was swelling again, and one wrong move would mean the return of the bird pose.

Saria's silence proved to be the wrong move.

"Why do you like him so much?" exclaimed Mido.

"I don't—it's not, I mean, we're just friends!" _Just friends_. It hurt Saria to say those words about Link. It was the truth, but to hear it out loud, and to be the one saying it…

"Stop lying," snapped Mido. "It's disgusting."

"I—"

"I don't get what you see in him," interrupted Mido. "He's so… _lame_."

"Don't talk about him like that."

"I'll talk about him however I want."

Saria took a deep breath to control herself. "Just let me through."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way."

"Hah! Good luck. You said it yourself; I'm the toughest one around."

If Saria had not been so upset, she might have laughed. Looking at Mido in his skirt-like tunic with a fairy fluttering around his shoulders, "tough" was not the word that came to mind.

"Listen," she said. "I didn't want to do this, but if you don't let me through, I'll tell everyone I caught you spying through my window the other night."

Mido looked like the moon had come all the way from Majora's Mask and hit him in the stomach.

Before he could return to his senses, Saria winked at him and strode through the tunnel.

Almost immediately, something felt wrong. There was a presence here that did not belong. Saria crept forth, noticing the dark leaves and severed stems of what must have been monstrous plants. _Severed stems_… She thought suddenly of Link and his new sword. _Link_. Saria quickened her pace.

When she arrived at the end of the path, she hid behind a shrub and peered around it. There was Link, sitting in front of the Deku Tree.

The Deku Tree was in the middle of a dark tale. He spoke of an evil man, a man who wanted power, a man who had poisoned him…

Then, incredibly, the Tree asked for Link's help. He asked for Link to face unknown peril with feeble weapons and no armor. He asked for Link to perform this feat alone. Link did not even hesitate. He nodded bravely.

Saria watched breathlessly as the Deku Tree opened its mouth. Link had no idea what sorts of horrors he might encounter, but that was not stopping him. That was what made him different from the other boys. He was so giving, so willing to listen and help, so unlike Mido, who only cared about himself.

Saria could barely watch as Link drew his sword and ran into the darkness.

* * *

This was the memory that came back to Saria now as she stood on the bridge waiting for Link to say those words that would leave her forever shattered. Her eyes pleaded, but she knew it was no use. He was not one of the Kokiri, and he never would be. He would grow older, and she would stay the same, forever dreaming of a future that had died in the past.

"Goodbye, Saria," said Link.

Saria could not speak. No words could ever explain how she felt. When the Deku Tree died, Link was the hope she held onto. She had never told him how she felt, and she never would. She had had weeks, months, even years to tell him, but now it was too late. She tried not to imagine the way her life could have been if only she were brave enough to admit how she felt. If only she had been braver, like him…

Surrounded by the beauty and the stillness of the woods, Saria blinked back tears. The forest that had once been alive with magic seemed hollow now. As she watched Link disappear into the darkness, a part of her died.

_I'll always be your friend_.


End file.
